New Zealand have regained control of the third and deciding Test against England after an impressive display on day three at Trent Bridge.

The Black Caps were 120-3 at stumps, boasting a 204-run lead in Nottingham after another England batting collapse started the day.

England were 223-2 going into the morning session, but lost three wickets – Joe Root (21), Jacob Bethell (74) and Jamie Smith (1) – in the opening 30 minutes of the day's play.

Harry Brook (58) scored his third half-century of the series, but the hosts could only manage 354 before being bowled out, as Nathan Smith (4-91) and Zak Foulkes (3-35) helped New Zealand to an 84-run first-innings lead.

England looked to be in the ascendancy when Jofra Archer (2-14) starred with the new ball to reduce the tourists to 12-2, while Gus Atkinson (1-25) removed Henry Nicholls (16) soon after.

However, Rachin Ravindra (60 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (26 not out) safely guided New Zealand to stumps with their 69-run partnership.

That's stumps on day three. pic.twitter.com/aJZTaIDyF9

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 27, 2026

Smith has Root's number

England have become synonymous with batting collapses during the Brendon McCullum era, with another poor display in the middle potentially costing them this series.

Although Root has over 14,000 Test runs and has often been reliable on home soil, Smith has now dismissed the England batter four times within 105 deliveries in the longest format.

Brook tried his best to close the first-innings gap, but once again failed to reach a century; he has not converted any of his three half-centuries into tons in this series.

But before England's batters come back out, their bowlers must also improve as they struggled after Archer's opening spell.

Josh Tongue conceded 28 runs from his five overs, while Shoaib Bashir failed to take any wickets in nine overs.